


No Plus One... Unless?

by TheKeyboardNinja



Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21862450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheKeyboardNinja/pseuds/TheKeyboardNinja
Summary: Lucia’s hourly phone calls regarding his RSVP was getting on his nerves. He usually didn’t bother bringing a date to these sorts of things. Why was it bothering him now? Mid-Season 17.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Comments: 2
Kudos: 63





	No Plus One... Unless?

It was a snowy December afternoon in Washington D.C. with a chilling wind coming off the Anacostia River whipping through the Navy Yard. The MCRT aside from Gibbs—who was in some meeting or another with Director Vance and SecNav regarding their last case in coordination with Cyber Crimes and the missing Special Forces Staff Sergeant—were at their desks wading through emails and closing out their caseload for the month. McGee and Torres were cross referencing their paper case files from older cases, while Bishop had headphones on verifying a Pashto audio recording for the NCIS Agent on assignment in Afghanistan looking for the Staff Sergeant. 

Brrrrr rang out from the cell phone on Agent Torres’ desk who picked it up, looked who was calling, rolled his eyes and hit the silence button. 

“That is the 6th call today that you’ve ignored, Nick. Who are you avoiding this time?” Tim asked not looking up from his computer monitor. 

“No one. Are you my phone tracker now?” Nick deadpanned.

“No, but if they don’t stop calling and you don’t answer I’m going to throw that cell phone off the roof. And that is only because I know you disconnected your desk phone an hour ago. Who did you piss off this time?” McGee looked up pointedly from his computer. 

“My sister,” Nick mumbled. “She’s getting remarried in a couple months and wants my RSVP.”

“Why haven’t you given her an answer yet? You’re going to avoid your sister’s wedding?” Tim quipped returning to his typing. 

Nick looked at with Tim and without a word returned to his paperwork. 

“Really—that’s it?” 

Kasie strolled into the bullpen to place a stack of files on Gibbs desk for signatures as Nick’s phone buzzed again. 

“Oh my god—Nick—I say this because I care—ANSWER YOUR SISTER FOR THE LOVE OF EVERYTHING HOLY? She is relentless. What does she do again?”

“She’s a JAG prosecutor,” Tim chimed in.

“Now I know why she has no chill, but Nick... really... I’m going to take that phone and experiment with the liquid nitrogen again. Why aren’t you answering?” Kasie questioned with her palms raised. 

“She knows I’m going but she’s pushing about my plus one.” Nick grunted, flipping through a paper case file and holding the paper for a closer view. 

Kasie said nothing in response but narrowed her eyes and walked towards McGee’s desk where they had a silent conversation with exasperated hand gestures and sighs in Nick’s direction. 

The elevator dinged and Jimmy rushed out of the still opening doors, “Where is Gibbs? I need a signature for my last order of the month. Also—why is she death staring her computer?” He gestured to Ellie with the files in his hand. 

“Meeting,” Tim sighed. “And she’s cross referencing some chatter—so she’s in the zone. Don’t bother her. Don’t even breath in her direction. You will lose a hand... or your head.” As Tim pointed at Jimmy with those final words, Jimmy recoiled towards Gibbs’ desk while starting wide eyed at Ellie. 

“Ah, of course,” he said once he was at a safe distance, then he turned towards Nick. “What’s going on over here in this area? It’s got a bad vibe.”

“His sister is hounding about his plus one to her wedding,” Kasie piped up to which Nick grunted in response throwing the file down and rubbing his eyes. 

“Nick, what is the deal here. Aren’t you Mr. Anti-Plus One anyway? Shouldn’t she know that already,” Tim muttered shuffling his files around. 

“Anti-Plus One? Nevermind I don’t want to know, forget I asked” Kasie exclaimed as she walked away back to the lab with her hands in the air. 

Nick groaned and tilted his head back, “None of those were family weddings. I missed the others in my eight years undercover.”

“And done!” Ellie exclaimed throwing her headphones off her head behind her neck. “That was rough, I was a little rusty.”

“Mm.” All three of the men nodded. 

“What’s going on?” Ellie questioned her coworkers narrowing her eyes at the three remaining in the bullpen. 

Jimmy chimed in, “Nick is avoiding his sister still.”

“Still, Nick?” Ellie rolled her eyes. “We know you don’t do plus ones, just tell Lucia that.”

“I have to agree with Kasie—what’s with your plus one policy?” Jimmy questioned but retreated after the look he received from Nick. “On the other hand, I’m going to leave now.”

As Jimmy walked back to autopsy, Ellie stood up from her desk “I’m going to go grab something for lunch, you guys want anything?”

“Thanks, no” and “No, I’m good” were said in response as she grabbed her jacket and walked to the elevator. 

Brrrrrrrrr rang the phone again from the confines of Nick’s desk prompting a glance from Tim who saw his coworker pointedly ignoring the sounds emanating from his desk. 

***  
Nick usually didn’t avoid his sister this badly. They spoke on the phone once a month since she had gotten out of the physical rehabilitation center following the accident. He knew this wedding was on the horizon after meeting her current fiancé, Daniel, at one of Amanda’s college softball games. Nick thought he was great and treated his sister and Amanda well—things were finally come back together for them. But why did it have to be right now. 

It’s just that things... were complicated and he was still trying to process the emotions of the breakup with Elena and the double date with her son and.... Ellie. 

This was stupid. Ziva was right.... He was a wuss and he should just go alone like normal and it would be fine. No plus one... unless?

“Errr,” he groaned to himself as he held his forehead. 

“You alright there?” his senior field agent asked. 

“Just a headache from staring and doing this paperwork. Waste of my agent superpowers.” 

“Maybe you should go take a break, get some fresh air, take your phone with you...” McGee trailed off grabbing something from the printer, placing it in the case file, and putting the file on the completed stack. 

As Nick was looking over at McGee, the elevator dinged and off came Ellie having a lively conversation on her cell phone with exclamations of “oh my god” and associated hand waving. 

Ellie continued marching until she reached Nick’s desk, “It’s for you.” she stated holding her phone out to him. 

“No,” Nick pointed. 

“Yes,” Ellie continued to stare him down. 

“Fine,” He took her phone and walked down the side corridor. 

“What do you want, Lucia?” he muttered into the phone after he was out of line of sight.

“Hello to you too,” his sister replied. 

“Sorry, I’ve been busy.” 

“You’re full of shit,” she said firmly. 

Nick sighed and looked around to ensure no one was around, “Look, the truth is the answer is complicated.”

“Oh, so there is somebody, but you’re too chickenshit to do anything about it, is that what it is?” Lucia scolded her younger brother. 

“Luc...” he sighed. 

“Sore subject, sorry, I remember you telling me about the whole double date thing. Which from a third party was HILARIOUS,” she chortled. 

“Glad my pain is funny to you,” he spoke low leaning against the wall, moving the cell phone to the other ear. 

“I’ll stop hounding you until the end of the week, but I need to turn these numbers in to catering at the end of the month. If you don’t, I’m disinviting you and inviting Ellie instead,” Lucia finished. 

Shocked, Nick replied, “Wow! And here I thought I was your favorite brother.”

“Don’t make me go to these lengths again. Let me know before I have go lawyer on you... love you byeeee,” his sister ended the phone call with a beep. 

Walking back to the bullpen, shaking his head defeated, setting the cell phone on Ellie’s desk and headed back to his desk. The paper case files were still unfinished and taunting him. 

“All better now?” Ellie asked as he walked by. 

“Ehh…” Nick sat down, and a series of non-word sounds followed.

“Ah, I see,” Ellie replied turning back to her computer. “Anyway, how much longer is that meeting going to go? 

“Forever,” McGee groaned. “How did I get so behind on all of these forms?”

“Dang McGee, even I’m not that far behind and I hate paperwork,” Ellie glanced over at the mountain of paper on Tim’s desk.

“Yeah, she’ll call you 13 times to avoid it,” Nick muttered under his breath.

“Hmm?”

“Nothing. I didn’t say anything. Just cleared my throat,” Nick emphasized clearing his throat.

“I see, well I’m going to go down to Kasie and see if any of this intel I got today is any help finding Staff Sergeant Michaels,” Ellie announced while grabbing her laptop and heading down the back corridor to the lab elevator. 

“Ahh!” Tim yelled and raising his fists at his computer monitor. “My report is… just gone. I think I can get it back, but it’s the principle of the matter. I do not have time for this.”

“And who has the technology tantrums now?”

“Can it, Nick.”

****

It had been two peaceful days without Lucia’s hourly harassment about the plus one status for her wedding. Nick felt dread having this discussion with her the next time she called, but the anxiety for the discussion with her loomed even more. 

Things had been slowly getting back to normal following the double-date disaster, and the whole “overprotective” cop out he had taken in response to his actions that night. But nothing had been the same as before either. Previously comfortable silences when left alone together felt heavy with words that remain unsaid. 

Nick left the lab and headed towards the elevator pressing the up button and waiting for the familiar chime to signal opening doors. Looking down and recessed deep in thoughts again, Nick walked into something—rather someone—who was already standing on the elevator.

“Oop—earth to Nick, you home in there?”

“Sorry Ellie, wasn’t looking where I was going.”

The elevator doors slid closed and they began their ascent back up to the bullpen.

“Ok…” she started. “Just coming up from autopsy, had to get this from Palmer.” Ellie waved some of the deceased belongings that were released from the chain of custody and being returned to the family.

Nick nodded solemnly in response.

“Ok…” Ellie said in exasperation and reached over and hit the emergency stop on the elevator that shuttered to a stop and the lights dimmed.

“Really?”

“Really? You’ve gone all space cadet on all of us again. Almost as bad as after ‘You Let Ziva Win’… almost,” she expressed marking the air quotes.

As he started to deflect, he was unable to escape the pointed look from Ellie and this slowly shrinking box of doom.

“Just the family stuff. Who knew the first family wedding in eleven years would cause so much…” he trailed off unable to find the word, settling on making a disgust face and shaking his hands in the air.

“It can’t be that bad. You got free food, open bar I’m assuming… did I mention the free food?”

“It’s always the food with you.”

“It’s the best memories. And cake!” she exclaimed turning the elevator on to continue their ascent. 

Nick laughed, “I’m much more partial to the dancing.”

“Of course. Why are you so worked up about it?”

“On Lucia’s side, it’s mostly going to be my mom’s family I haven’t seen in 20 years and I’m not going to know anybody and it’s going be awful time of touchy-feely moments with no escape. No friends to hang with or hide behind.”

“Says Mr. Extroverted Personality who can make best friends forever on a plane.”

“That was one time.” He pointed. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that it would be much better if I knew someone there.”

Ellie smiled, “Mm” was all she was able to say as the elevator doors chimed and slid open.

Walking into the bullpen, McGee strolled over and was beaming, “Guys, you’re not going to believe this, I have completed every single piece of paper, every scrap, post-it, voicemail that I had backlogged.” McGee continued to walk away beaming all the way down the hall as his coworkers looked at him in concern.

“Is he okay?”

“B, I don’t think he was ever ok.”

Ellie looked down at her desk and picked up an envelope that looked vaguely familiar.

“What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s my invitation to Lucia’s wedding. Addressed to me specifically by Amanda. She thanked me for helping her on the day of the accident.”

“You were already going?”

“Well, I hadn’t RSVPed yet. You were in such a mood about it I didn’t want to bring it up until I figured out if you were going yet.”

“Has she hounded you about responding yet?”

“RSVPs aren’t due until January 23rd?”

“Gibbs is on the move and he looks MAD,” Jimmy power walked by them with wide eyes straight to the back-corridor elevator.

“So, I guess I’ll see you there.”

Ellie turned and smiled.

“Grab your gear! Dead sailor at Anacostia-Bolling,” Gibbs marched in, grabbing his sidearm and badge from his desk.

“Boss,” McGee exclaimed. “You’re back. How’d it go?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Gibbs replied sprint walking to the elevator wanting to be anywhere but here.

***

The conversation with Lucia that followed two days later when she called him again went much better than their other phone calls. He even picked up on the second time she called instead of waiting for her to call someone else first.

“I’ll admit I did hide the fact that Ellie was already invited, but I didn’t think you’d get so worked up about it.” 

Nick listened to his sister on the phone but just sighed in response.

“Does she know, Nick?”

“Know what?”

“Know what? Don’t pull that bullshit on me, Nick. You know exactly, what. Your words say one thing, but your eyes tell another story.”

“I’m working on it, Luc.”

“Well, at least you have a date for the wedding. Mom will be so pleased.”

“It’s not a date.”

“I know you can’t talk about your years undercover after Sofia died, but I really need you to stop self-sabotaging yourself and let yourself be happy. Maybe this will lead somewhere.”

“One thing at a time, Luc. One thing at a time.”


End file.
